Berlitz World Cup Guide

With the World Cup just around the corner, many people will be preparing for a trip to good old Germania. And, if you've been to continental Europe before, you'll know what a confusing experience it can be. Preparing yourself for a holiday can be like preparing yourself for war. (Sorry, don't mention the what?)

What if you don't like the food? Pack some reliable English grub in your suitcase. What if the sun doesn't shine? Add a few hundred changes of clothes, for every possible weather condition. And what if there isn't a toilet in your bathroom? Cram that in, too. Better safe than sorry.

But what if after packing enough supplies to help you through any event up to and including a nuclear holocaust, you come to realise you've no room left to pack the numerous guide books, phrase books, and tourist aids that you'd bought the week before? What then?

You're not keen on causing an international incident or getting arrested for an indecent proposal when you go to tip your barmaid, so naturally you begin to worry. You could re-pack your suitcase and take out the non-essential stuff. But what if it gets chilly?

To save you the hassle of leaving behind vital supplies, Berlitz and Living Mobile has come up with a solution in the shape of a series of Berlitz World Cup Guides, one for each of the tournament's host cities. Each is a mobile database of German customs, phrases and all sorts of other useful information to help keep Hans and Herman happy during your stay.

Strangely enough, the World Cup part of the guide is actually rather sparse. You can browse group listings and tables, and you can input the score for each match after it's happened, letting you keep track of each team's progress and fixtures, but bar a few obligatory details about each stadium, there's not much else to it.

The rest of the application however has seemingly been aimed at a much broader, less specialised audience, and contains details about pretty much everything the weary traveller could want to know. From the opening hours of banks to a list of good restaurants, the Berlitz World Cup Guides cover a lot of ground, and take up much less room than the equivalent book would (not least because you'll already have your mobile phone with you).

The Places Worth Seeing category is particularly helpful, containing a list of museums, art galleries, and places of historical interest you may want to visit during your stay, accompanied by a four criteria rating-system.

But by far the most useful and comprehensive feature of the Guides is the Phrase Book, which contains a detailed list of statements and questions to extricate yourself from the stickiest of situations. A diverse range of topics is covered, from accommodation and communication through to emergencies and even flirting!

We kid you not – if you're looking for an in with that hunk/honey on the beach, "Kannst du mir den rucken eincremen?" should see you good ("Would you put some cream on my back?"). Other wonderful chat-up lines include "Do you mind if I kiss you?", the disturbingly shifty "Are you travelling alone?", and everyone's favourite get-out clause, "I have a headache."

If you're looking for a way to save valuable space in your suitcase or need a cheap but surprisingly in-depth phrase book for your stay in Germany, you can't go far wrong with this. Whilst it is let down by the lack of a search function, the guide itself is fairly comprehensive and, for a weekend away, it could be the perfect companion.